After
by Brooke Warner
Summary: An Ugly Betty ending; Betty's packing and Hilda drops by. Old faces, no braces, and Betty being Betty. This is intended as a ONESHOT, but has the possibility of a prequel.


Ugly Betty: The Ending

So, I'm creating this as a way to say goodbye to an awesome series that is ending (as they tend to do when they get my "favourite show on air" stamp…) with the ending I hope it turned out to be considering the facts presented by Horta. I started writing this the week before the announcement that it was going to move to Wednesdays, but finished it with the knowledge of cancellation, and a wedding.

~o~

"Do you have the shampoo?"

"Yes, and I know you don't mean the green one."

"What about the hair dryer?"

"Yes."

"The album?"

"Yes."

"Passports?"

Betty sighed and swiveled her body in the direction of the bathroom. "Do _you _want to do this and _I'll _have a shower, and I wasn't going to talk about that hair growth stuff you st—"

"I am NOT losing my hair." the door burst open to a cloud of steam.

Betty took off her fogged-up glasses as she shrugged, "I'm not the one using that stinky stuff."

"Stinky?"

Betty felt his entire body knock her to the bed. She yelped at looked up in surprise.

"Am I stinky now?" he pressed his face closer.

"Get off, you're wet!"

Gio looked at Betty, a crooked smile creeping on to his face as Betty's eyes widened when she tried to lift his arms off hers.

"Gio!"

"'Cmon, you know you like it. I couldn't just stay in the bathroom while you insulted my manhood."

"It was hair products…not…stop that…Couldn't you have grabbed _something_?" Her voice pitched.

He paused and opened his mouth, "I grabbed a towel. "

Betty shifted a little, "Okay. You have a towel. But what about getting off?"

Gio shook his head, spraying smelly water, "Not until you say it to my face."

Betty frowned, "Yes, your hair smells bad and this whole thing about losing your hair's silly."

He narrowed his eyes. "Good enough." Gio rolled over to the only section of the bed unoccupied by human or suitcase.

"Egh. Now I'm all wet." She picked at her shirt.

"You weren't going to wear that anyways." He kissed her cheek. Betty wrinkled her nose, detesting both the smell and Gio's very correct statement.

"Please stop using that green stuff."

"Only if you take a break from that mouth guard"

"If I stop, you'll have a lot more metal to work with than that."

'One day won't kill _years_."

Betty sighed. "One day?"

"Seven."

"Seven!"

"Spread out…" Gio motioned a wide arc with his hands, "If I'm giving up this stuff that could possibly save my hair for good, I want some mileage out of this deal."

She stared at Gio for a little until he shifted. "I'll give you some time to think about it," he inched closer, "until then, I'm using this potion!"

He gave her a quick kiss and went back into the bathroom as Hilda opened the door. She did a double-take.

"When you said you met up with Gio again I didn't think that meant I was going to see all _that _two weeks later."

Betty narrowed her eyes "He's here so we can get ready for this trip."

"Mhmmn…" Hilda looked up and down at Betty's wet clothing. Then Hilda was caught in the steam. "Ogh!" she waved at the air with her right hand, "what's that s_mell_?"

Betty sighed, "Gio's shampoo or something."

"It smells worse than his aunt Lula."

Betty looked up from her packing, eyes wide. "when did you meet aunt Lula?"

"She's a _cus_tomer," Hilda enunciated, "She gave me the whole scoop on Gio and your little—"

"Wait! Stop. I don't want you finishing that sentence."

Hilda gave a sturdy laugh, throwing her head back triumphantly, "Then she was telling the truth when she said she walked in on—"

"I said don't finish that sentence, Hilda." Betty began to zip up the suitcase, bed clean of the cluttering items save for two plane tickets, a notepad, and a pen. "Where's Bobby? Aren't you two supposed to still be on the second part of your honeymoon?"

"Nah," Hilda brushed away the remark, eyes widening excitedly, "Bobby and I wanted to spend the money on something else." Her face began to stretch into a wide smile, "we've decided we're gonna put the money aside for a real hair salon!"

Betty screeched in joy and ran to take her sister into a hug, "Hilda! That's perfect!"

"What is it?!" a frantic Gio raced out of the bathroom still missing a shirt and holding an upside down lamp like a baseball bat. Hilda looked him up and down with pursed lips and raised eyebrows. Betty quickly removed herself from Hilda, still glowing with happiness.

Hilda's getting her own salon!"

Gio let the lamp fall behind him, raising his arms and smiling, "That's great!"

Betty looked back to Hilda's unimpressed glance between her and Gio. Betty sighed.

"Hilda, I know you think this is rash, but I know I'm doing the right thing."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Betty, we've been through this before."

"If you're talking about when Henry proposed, this is completely different."

"So, instead of yourself, you're choosing Gio this time?"

"No, this is different."

"No it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No. it isn't"

"Yes—Wait. Let's…stop this here." Betty said, "I'm going with Gio; it doesn't mean I wouldn't have gone without him—"

"Hey!"

"No offense, Gio." She touched his wrist, and turned back to Hilda, "I'm going to this new job because this is me making that next step…it was Gio who reminded me exactly what I had always planned to do. " Betty's eyes were moist with emotion and pleading to her sister. Hilda waited a beat, then smiled at Betty resignedly,

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You we're on your _honeymoon_, Hilda." Betty laughed, "Most people spend the entire time with only their spouse. You called me twice."

Hilda began to blink rapidly, "I missed you." She started to wave her hands around her eyes, "I was going to tell you all about Bobby's water skiing, and how great the spa was, and the sunset, and all the other great things you tell your sister after the best time of their life." Betty and Hilda hugged again, tears streaking either cheeks as Betty opened her mouth.

"You can still tell me everything you wanted to; I'd never leave you or Justin or Papi forever. I'll always visit. You can visit too. What about Bobby?"

Hilda laughed, extricating herself and wiping under her eyes, "And his mother and father. We'll never get time to have a family of our own."

"Bobby loves you." Betty looked beside her; Gio had disappeared into the bathroom quietly. "You will never lose us; and if you're ever in trouble just give Daniel a call—"

"I know." Hilda sighed, "I don't want you to go. Are you sure this is right? And with Gio?"

"Yeah.." Betty said, voice becoming chipper with enthusiasm, "We've paid up the rent for a while, and the bonus from Mode's more than enough for this trip."

"But do you have any idea when you're coming back?"

"No." Betty didn't think before she answered, "We're gone for at least six months, and if this doesn't work, I'll be back doing what I always do."

Hilda paused, pushing the words out. "You're not coming back, Betty." Hilda shook her head quietly, "You'll find what you're looking for."

Betty blinked, a great grin illuminating her face, "Yeah, but nothing's for sure." She hugged Hilda, "I'll see you again soon."

Hilda reciprocated the embrace and smiled happily, "Okay." She looked around, and shouted to the house, "Bye Gio, Papi and I will kill you if Betty's hurt." And she left quietly.

Betty stared at the closed door sadly for a little; two arms encircled her from the back. She froze, noted the sleeves, and that shirts tend to go along with sleeves.

"You're still wet." He purred.

"Wrong timing, Gio." She sputtered.

"No it isn't, you needed someone to lighten the mood."

"Or ruin it." Betty laughed anyways.

"I always have rotten timing."

'I know."

"and you like it."

"I know."

Gio walked in front of the door, "Everything you said was true. You can always come back, or...not go."

Betty stared at him in wonder and sighed, "After everything, you're still willing to let me stay?"

He shrugged, "I'm not letting you do anything, Suarez. You have your own plan to follow. Don't let anybody else muck it up"

"But you _are _part of my plan…" Betty blushed, looking down at her feet.

Gio looked at her softly for a moment, picking up his suitcase and opening the door to the bathroom, "After you, Suarez." He said grandly.

Betty paused, then picked up her suitcase and walked through the open door, smiling at his winking face. He frowned mockingly.

"First Daniel, now Hilda. They remember that you dumped me the last time?"

Betty turned back and kissed him quickly before laughing, "You know why they say that. It's like aunt Lula."

"Yeah, but we were caught by aunt Lula."

"She chased after me with holy water yesterday."

"There's no proof of that, it could've been anything in that water bottle." he smirked. "Now that you have practiced walking out a door, do you think you can do it?"

Betty felt her insides solidify. She could sense the happiness of her next step take hold at the sight of the door Gio held open for her.

Betty took the handle into her fingers, placed over Gio's until he relinquished his grip. Betty's smile illuminated her features as she inched closer to Gio.

"I'll be ready as soon as I change into some dry clothes."

He gave a broad smile, "Then we'd better get on it."

"Nuh-uh." She pushed him out of the room, "You still smell like the potion. We'll talk later about our deal," and closed the door slowly on his contented face. Betty relaxed against the wall, exulting in the freedom of the new life ahead of her.


End file.
